User:Sanfranman59/Dan Haren

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Dan Haren

Oakland Athletics — No. 15
Starting Pitcher
Born: September 17, 1980 (1980-09-17) (age 27)
Bats: Right Throws: Right 
Major League Baseball debut
June 30, 2003 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Selected MLB statistics
(through July 2, 2007)
Won-Lost     44-37
ERA     3.78
Innings pitched     681 2/3
Strikeouts     512
Teams

Daniel John "Danny" Haren (born September 17, 1980 in Monterey Park, California) is a starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. He is a 1998 graduate of Bishop Amat Memorial High School in La Puente, California and was named West Coast Conference Player of the Year in helping to lead Pepperdine University to a regional berth in the 2001 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 2001 amateur draft. The Cardinals sent Haren to the A's in after the 2004 season as part of a trade that brought Mark Mulder to St. Louis. Haren has established himself as a top of the rotation pitcher for Oakland.

Along with Rich Harden and Joe Blanton, he is part of the "New Big Three", a name given to the A's three new young star pitchers that replaced Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder—the A's "Big Three" from 2000–2004.

Haren graduated from Bishop Amat Memorial High School in La Puente, California in 1998 and attended Pepperdine University in Malibu on a baseball scholarship. It was there that he teamed up with Noah Lowry, a left-handed pitcher just one month younger than Haren, to form the best starting pitching duo in the West Coast Conference.[neutrality disputed] In the 2001 season, Haren posted a 2.22 ERA in 17 starts and Lowry posted a 1.71 ERA in 18 starts. The teammates (and roommates) skipped their senior seasons at Pepperdine when Lowry was selected in the first round (30th overall pick) by the San Francisco Giants and Haren in the second round (72nd overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2001 amateur draft.

Haren quickly ascended through the St. Louis minor league system. In 2002, he made 28 starts at single-A for Peoria and Potomac, finishing with a combined ERA of 2.74. He began 2003 at double-A Tennessee, but was so dominant in his eight starts (6-0, 0.82 ERA) that he was promoted to triple-A Memphis and eventually was eventually called up to St. Louis to make his major league debut, June 30, at the age of 22. Although he pitched well in his debut (two earned runs, seven hits and one walk in six innings), he was outdueled by Giants' ace Jason Schmidt in a 5-1 loss.

After finishing 2003 with a 5.08 ERA in 14 starts for the Cardinals, Haren was back at Memphis in 2004. This time, he was with the Redbirds for their entire season, going 11-4 with a 4.21 ERA in 21 starts and leading the team's starting pitchers in most statistical categories.[citation needed] He received a late-season call-up and made five appearances in the postseason for the Cardinals, including two in the World Series. The Cardinals were swept by the Boston Red Sox, but Haren pitched well in the series, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

After the 2004 season, Haren was traded with right-handed reliever Kiko Calero and top hitting prospect Daric Barton to the Oakland Athletics for all-star pitcher Mark Mulder. Haren admirably filled the hole Mulder left in the A's pitching rotation in 2005, posting 14 wins against 12 losses and a 3.73 ERA in his first full season as a major leaguer.

With Haren joining the A's, he gets the opportunity to pitch against the rival San Francisco Giants in the Bay Bridge Series. He has gone head-to-head multiple times against best friend and former Pepperdine teammate Noah Lowry, who also quickly made it to the majors. Haren was the victor in their first two games as opposing pitchers and although Lowry was the more highly touted prospect coming out of Pepperdine, they put up remarkably similar numbers in their first seasons in the Bay Area:

Haren: 14-12, 3.73 ERA in 34 starts
Lowry: 13-13, 3.78 ERA in 33 starts

The two were tenants in the same apartment building in South San Francisco, with Haren living directly above Lowry. Haren now lives in Walnut Creek with his wife, the former Jessica Valdez, and their dog, Bernie. The couple were married on November 17, 2006.

[edit] Haren's style of pitching

Haren throws a 93-95 mph fastball, a sharp split-finger fastball and the occasional changeup and slider. When able to control his split-finger pitch, it drops down out of the strike zone just as the hitter attempts to make contact. He throws a lot of strikes, finishing 10th and 4th in the American League in strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Because he likes to challenge hitters, he has also been among the league leaders in home runs allowed (12th in 2005 with 26 and 7th in 2006 with 31).

In 2005, Haren was in the top 10 in the American League in innings pitched (9th with 217), strikeouts (6th, 163) and complete games (4th, 3).

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